


leaving like a father, running like water

by procrastinationfairy



Category: Story of Seasons: Friends of Mineral Town (Video Game 2020)
Genre: Background Karen/Popuri and Claire/Gray, Enemies to Lovers, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:22:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26132605
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/procrastinationfairy/pseuds/procrastinationfairy
Summary: Rick knows Kai isn’t good enough for his sister. Kai knows Popuri has a girlfriend. Popuri knows her brother would blow his lid if he knew she was dating his best friend Karen. Karen knows Rick needs to be let in on their secret. Nothing stays hidden for long in Mineral Town.
Relationships: Kai/Rick (Harvest Moon)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 26





	leaving like a father, running like water

**Author's Note:**

> Obviously this is based off the remake. I never finished the original FOMT mainly because I had such terrible luck triggering Cliff and Ann/Ran’s rival events and later the winery event. It’s been so exciting to get to play it all over again. On the whole, I think the remake has been pretty solid, but I’m still incredibly disappointed at the lack of rival marriages. (Marvelous/XSEED, please consider DLC? Please?) That being said, it allows me a little freedom in interpretation of relationships. The first scene is very vaguely based off of Rick and Kai’s “fight”, but obviously I’ve taken some liberties. The story itself is technically set within an overarching universe I may write within in the HM/SOS franchise, and there might be some references to it, but nothing essential to the story.

“Kai!”

Rick’s voice vibrates through the wooden panels of Kai’s shack in a sickeningly off resonance. The walls aren’t exactly soundproof, or even thick enough to dull it, and Mineral Beach is usually quiet, even in the summer before the town closes up shop. Kai looks up from his frying pan with a sigh, and Popuri slides off of Karen’s lap and into the seat next to her.

“There goes your brother again,” Karen says. “You want me to talk to him, Kai?”

Karen’s one of the few who could talk sense into Rick when he’s like this, and it would probably be a good idea. Kai has to finish Gray’s order before he stops in for lunch, and he doesn’t have time to deal with him. 

But Popuri looks at him with those big red eyes, and Kai knows it’s a lost cause. She has no desire to let her brother know about her relationship with Karen yet, and Kai has always been a sucker for red eyes. He gets why Rick is so protective of Popuri. She’s good at manipulating people like that. 

He tosses the peppers onto a plate—they’re done enough for that, at least—and shakes his head. “Nah. I’ll go chase him off. You kids watch the store, okay?” he says with a wink.

“I can finish that order,” Karen offers. 

Both Kai and Popuri shout, “No!” and Popuri throws her arms around her girlfriend’s neck again, saving Kai from any explanation about why he doesn’t want Karen in his kitchen. Thank you, Popuri. Nice to see her pay him back after all the times he’s saved her butt. 

So Kai heads out the front door into the heavy heat of Mineral Beach. “Rick,” he says with a nod of his head.

“Keep your hands off of my sister!” Rick shouts. His dirty blond hair stands on end. Kai kind of thinks he looks like a spooked chicken.

“I don’t know what you’re talkin’ ’bout,” Kai says, though he does. It’s not like it matters. Rick never thinks straight when he’s like this, so denial and acceptance pan out the same way. 

Rick scoffs. “I know she comes here all the time to see you.”

“Dude, I haven’t done anything,” Kai shrugs. “If Popuri comes here, it’s because she wants to. Besides, nothin’s goin’ on between her and me.”

“Don’t lie to me!” Rick’s glasses bob off of his nose as he shouts. “I know you’re doing something to trick her!”

Kai feels his lower eyelid twitch. He’s pretty sure he can hear Claire’s voice from the plaza—if she’s chatting with the Gossipmongers, she’s definitely waiting for Gray. He still needs to finish that order so the happy couple can go to lunch. “I feel sorry for Popuri, having such a dickhead for a brother,” he says. “I have work to do. Go peck at someone else for a change.”

“What did you call me?” Rick exclaims. “You stay away from Popuri or else!”

“She’s a free woman!” Kai calls back as he pulls the white wooden door open. “She can come and go as she pleases! And if you try to come inside, you better order something, or I’ll tell Harris you were loitering!” The door slams back from its fiercely wound spring. He returns to his kitchen and begins to plate the rest of Gray’s meal.

Popuri has flopped across the top of the table, and Karen sips at her water. “Ugh, I’m never going to hear the end of it when I get home,” Popuri whines. “Why can’t he just chill out? Even if I was dating Kai—”

“Which you’re not,” Karen says, “and you could tell him that.”

“—it wouldn’t be any of his business. It’s my life, Karen! I’m eighteen!”

“You’re an adult,” Kai agrees. “But he’s never going to treat you like one if you don’t make him.”

Popuri knits her eyebrows together, arms crossed over her chest. “I can’t make him, Kai. You don’t know my brother. He’s so— so—”

“Relax,” Karen says, settling her hands on Popuri’s shoulders. “Look. We can talk about it some other time. I need to get back to the store. We’re doing inventory today. And your mom might need a break. Sorry to stay so long, Kai.”

“Hey, you’re always welcome to hang out here!” Kai assures. “As long as you order something other than water.”

Karen rolls her eyes and sets the empty water glass on the counter. “We’ll see you later. Take care.”

“You too.”

It’s all quiet until Claire and Gray walk in ten minutes later. Like usual, Claire is mildly sweaty, blonde hair knotted behind her head to give a little reprieve from the summer heat. Her cheeks and nose are tinged red, but she’s been slowly tanning each day since Kai arrived. Gray beside her is equally flushed, but that’s for an entirely different reason.

“Hey!” Claire says, waving with a smile. “So Gray told me he asked you to make lunch for us.”

“That he did,” Kai confirms. He pulls out the plates and passes them over. “One pizza for two and one bowl of mixed veggies from one Miss Claire’s farm. Would you like two waters for an upcharge of zero G?”

“Kai,” Gray grits out in a way that tells Kai he is very embarrassed and wants him to stay and definitely won’t make him stop.

“Ha! Two waters for zero G, please,” Claire says. She grins as she opens her bag and pulls out a pineapple. “By the way, I brought this for you. Feel free to keep it for yourself. I’m hoping to have a bigger harvest soon, and maybe you can add some to your menu.”

“Claire, my sweet farmgirl, I don’t share these goods,” Kai says. The pineapple goes under the counter, where it will be kept safe and sound from prying eyes and longing comments about pineapple fresh from the grill.

“Fair enough,” she replies. One hand latches around Gray’s, while the other scoops up a plate. “I thought I heard Rick’s voice earlier when I was hanging with Manna, Anna, and Sasha. Was he bothering you?”

Gray raises a brow, but Kai shakes his head. “Nah, he never bothers me. He was here though. Freaking out about Popuri again.”

Claire hums and nods. Gray grabs the other plate, carefully taking a step backward, guiding Claire like an easily spooked animal. “We should probably eat. I have a short lunch break before Gramps wants me back.” he says.

“True.” Claire tosses another smile at Kai. “But let me know if you want me to talk to Rick. We’re friends. I might be able to get him to relax a bit.”

“Good luck with that,” Kai snorts, but he waves the happy couple off. Young love is sweet, and Claire and Gray deserve all the time together they can get amidst their busy schedules. The people are one of the biggest reasons Kai likes his Mineral Town summers. They’re all cool.

Well, except for Rick.

* * *

Rick hates summer.

It’s too hot. It’s too long. It’s too full of Kai, and too often Popuri ditches her afternoon chores to hang out at the beach cafe with  _ him _ .

Of course, everyone hangs out on the beach as much as possible during the summer, and Kai’s cafe is the only place to eat without going back into town or bringing a meal. Most residents spend a fair amount of time there whenever they get the opportunity to lounge on the beach. Even Claire manages to finish all of her chores early at least one day a week, so she and Gray can have a seaside picnic.

(“You’re welcome to join us,” she told him once as she purchased another bundle of feed. “Marie and Jennifer are coming tonight. We can ask a few others to come. Ran and Cliff might be free. I can ask Karen too—if you want to ask Popuri, maybe we can get everyone to join. Kai closes at five—”

“If Kai’s going, I’m not,” he said, and he walked out the door to feed the hens.)

Honestly, Rick would love to spend some time by the sea too. He’s not much on swimming or heat, but they live by a beach. It seems a waste not to utilize the resource once or twice. But someone needed to be with their mother, and Lillia couldn’t go to the beach. 

“Sweetie, don’t worry about me. I can handle myself for a few hours,” she says whenever he looks a little cross, or the heat picks up and he thinks  _ maybe _ a dip in the ocean would be refreshing.

Rick can’t accept, of course. If only Popuri would be there, he could take his own day off. But no. She has to spend her days with Kai. 

“Kai isn’t so bad,” Karen tells him at their morning chat outside the general store. She’s stretched out, legs hanging out into the cobblestone street, eyes closed. She’d run inventory the night before, and Rick knows how it tires her out. He even thinks he spies a bit of wine on the hem of her shorts, which either means she hasn’t changed them since the day before or she started drinking first thing in the morning. “He’s funny. Sweet.”

“He’s a menace!” Rick said.

Karen blinked, her face slowly growing more befuzzled. “What are you, J. Jonah Jameson?”

“Very funny.”

“For real—” Karen sits up and dusts off her knees. “—you have an issue. He’s a good guy, and even if Popuri was dating him, you wouldn’t have a reason to dislike him. Y’know, he could be a huge dick about everything you do—showing up outside his store during business hours and yelling at him, tracking him down at the inn to yell at him—but you know what he does? He lets you rant. He tells you what he thinks. And he gets on about his day.”

“You mean he lies and hides what’s going on with my sister,” Rick says.

The whites of Karen’s eyes are blinding. She shakes her head. “No. That’s not what I mean.”

“You don’t get it, Karen. I don’t trust him.” Rick kicks at a dandelion growing by the bench leg. “He’s— He’s so unreliable. He runs away to a new town every time the wind changes, and he never stays longer than a season. He never even sends a letter when he’s gone. He leaves at the end of summer, and then there’s no word until he suddenly shows up again.”

Karen picks a piece of fuzz off of the end of her shorts. “That’s not exactly unreliable. He leaves at the same time every year. Comes back at the same time.”

“Until the day he doesn’t. And everyone expects him to come. And no one knows what happened to him. They’ll just sit around waiting forever, always hoping that somehow he’ll come back, and everything will be better—” Rick stops and unclenches his teeth. It takes too much effort to pry his hand from his knee, and he shakes out the tension.

Karen is quiet now. The sun has fully risen, no more orange flooding in the sky. The light hits the back of the inn, where Ran is hanging the first load of laundry to dry. The general store will open soon, and Rick needs to get back to the farm anyway. 

“Kai isn’t like your father,” Karen says as she stands up. “I know how you feel, okay? I’m your best friend. But you can’t blame Kai for anything your father’s done.”

“What?” Rick asks. “What does my father have to do with any of this?”

Karen opens her mouth, then shuts it. “Have a good day, Rick. Tell your sister I said hey.”

* * *

Normally, Kai gets his supplies from Zack. It’s one of the benefits of having his shack right next to the shipping business; he gets the best picks of fresh produce and animal products from all over Mineral Town. But he realizes he’s out of cheese at ten, and he has both a lunch and dinner rush to handle. If he hits Claire before she’s headed out, he might be able to get the cafe open on time. He rushes out and across town, through Rose Plaza, past Yodel Ranch, past PoPoultry, past the forge—

“Hey! I thought I told you to stay away from my sister!”

Oh, joy. Just what he wanted. A crazy older brother chasing him across town. On a normal basis, Kai would stop and defend himself, but he’s got less than an hour until he opens. He needs that cheese. He keeps walking and turns down the path that leads to Claire’s.

Luckily, Claire is on the farm. She’s climbing a tree, up to her elbow inside a beehive.

“Uh,” Kai says, suddenly wondering if he should get the doctor because there’s no way she wasn’t stung like that.

Claire dumps a bunch of honey into a jar and shimmies down. “Hey, Kai! What’s up?” She walks past and washes her hand in a nearby basin. “I don’t normally get guests on my farm this early.”

Kai stares. Her hand is noticeably unstung. “Uh…” He shakes off the thought. So the lady is friends with bees. One of the least weird things he’s heard about Claire. “Cheese. I was wonderin’ if you could hook me up with a few blocks.”

Claire smiles and tucks her hair behind her ear. “You’re in luck! Let me run inside. Does four sound good?”

“Golden,” Kai says.

Claire returns two minutes later, a few blocks of cheese wrapped neatly in a cloth. “One order of cheese,” she says. 

“Cool. What do I owe you?” Kai digs his wallet out of his back pocket, but Claire waves him off.

“Don’t sweat it. I actually need a favor from you, so I’m holdin’ onto that for next time, okay?” 

“You sure?” Kai hates to take anything for free, but Claire’s a good friend. “I’ll def deliver whatever you need.”

Claire’s eyes light up, something warm and mysterious. “Perfect. So is cheese all you need?”

“Yep. I realized I ran out this mornin’,” Kai says.

Claire nods and tosses her bag over her shoulders. “Ah. And you can’t make beachside pizza without cheese,” she says. 

“That I cannot,” Kai says. 

“I’m fixin’ to head into town now. Want to walk together?” she offers.

“Sure.” Kai is pretty sure Claire’s heading to visit Gray, but a short walk is better than nothing at all. “The farm looks good. Bigger than last year. How do you do it all alone?”

“I don’t do it alone,” Claire says. She smiles a little wider. “I have the aid of the Harvest Goddess and the Nature Sprites.”

Kai scoffs. “Oh, yeah. I’m sure they all come out and water your crops for you. I bet they even milk your cows.”

“Of course!” Claire laughs. “Farming is in my blood, Kai. If I couldn’t run a farm, I shouldn’t be here.”

“True enough.” Kai still thinks it’s kind of amazing that a girl only a couple inches over five feet can do it all, but he’s not one to doubt. He’s seen the speed Claire can move through her fields when she needs. He’s also seen her chase a chicken all the way to Mineral Beach. When she needs to be, she’s swift as wind. “So got any plans for our blacksmith this evening?”

“Nah. Gray is working late because his grandfather has a checkup,” Claire says.

Kai clicks his tongue. “Damn. He’s really buckled down since you two got together. I always thought he was the easygoing type like me. Work is just work. Life is about play.”

Claire smiled, her slightly chapped lips peeling with the motion. “I thought he was a hothead layabout,” she admitted. “But sometimes you change for the people you care about.”

“You think he changed because of you?” Kai asks.

Claire dusts her hands off, like that will shake off the dirt coating her palms, and she pulls a ponytail holder from her wrist to knot her hair back. “I know he has. He told me.”

“Romantic. Relationship goals,” Kai says knowingly.

Claire scoffs. “Oh, stop. I know you’re not one to settle down, but not everyone is like you. It’s one thing to take your life easy when you’re single, with no plans for a long-term future—and that’s not a bad thing,” she adds when Kai tosses her a look he normally reserves for Rick. They slow as they turn the corner to the Southside. Kai’s eyes catch on PoPoultry. Rick isn’t outside, so that’s one good thing. “Kai.”

He turns to look at Claire. She’s stepped back towards the forge, but she doesn’t go inside yet. “I’m not trying to judge your lifestyle, okay? I know you’re happy. You never have to settle down if you don’t want to. But when someone decides they do, they have to work a little harder to make a home. Gray and I are going to get married one day. We’re putting down roots.”

Claire uses her soft voice, the kind that makes most people want to settle down and bask in the grace she provides. Normally, Kai likes that. It’s too easy to like the girl. But something about what she’s saying rubs him the wrong way. It’s not like he’s doing anything wrong. So what if he doesn’t want to stay in one town for the rest of his life? He’s not even poor! He’s got three houses in three different towns! He runs his own business in all of them!

Sure, his houses aren’t expensive—more shacks than anything. He tried to sleep in the Mineral Town house for a while, until it became painfully obvious that it was too dangerous during the stormy season. But he still owned them. They were his work. 

His work was good enough. Maybe he could make more if he worked more, but all work and no play—

“Kai, you can play all you want when you’re on your own. You take care of yourself,” Claire says. “But Gray and I are partners. We’re taking care of each other. And for us, that means we work a little less.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Kai snaps. He doesn’t understand. He’s always gotten along with Claire. Why is she being so judgy-judgy?

“Because I think you should try to understand Rick a little. He’s been a dick to you, I agree,” she says, holding her hands up. “But you remind him of—well. Maybe that’s not my place to say.”

“Claire—”

“See you later, Kai.” The door to the forge slams shut, a hard thunk of metal against metal. Kai could stand and fume, but he has a shack to open. He’ll burn off all that steam with some cooking.

Who gave a fuck what Rick thought?

* * *

Rick sees Claire almost every day. If she doesn’t stop by PoPoultry, she waves as she walks back to her farm from the forge. Rick likes Claire. She’s such a level-headed, dependable person. Gray is lucky to have her. 

He tells Gray this at the inn one night when they’re having drinks. Gray doesn’t normally drink much, but summers are a good time to get everyone together. Karen usually spends her evenings in the inn anyway. Ran, Jennifer, Gray, and Cliff live there, and with summer, Kai does too. Rick could protest, but he knows better than to make a scene like that. He can tolerate Kai for one night, especially since Popuri never comes to the inn. She knows he needs the evenings to unwind. For once, he can rely on her to care for their mother. 

“How’d you get Claire to agree to date you?” Rick asks as he sips at his wine. Wine is more or less Karen’s thing, but she got him hooked on a good white. Maybe he’s biased, having grown up in Mineral Town, but if Duke and Manna don’t make a good bottle… “No offense. I just never thought of you as her type.”

It isn’t that Rick was interested in Claire either. It was nice to have someone else who could appreciate the care that went into raising chickens, but she wasn’t his type. She was too short for him, and really, he couldn’t imagine marrying someone who worked more than he did. That being said, Gray had been a slacker for years. He denied it every time anyone brought it up, but Rick remembered the time Marie had delicately hinted that he might spend some of his afternoons in the forge instead of the library. Gray’s face had turned as red as his hair, and Marie had been a little too quiet whenever she walked around the Southside for three months. How could those two fit together?

“I’m lucky,” Gray says. He’s a lightweight, apparently, cheeks flushed. Claire never comes to any of their late night drinking sessions. She likes to sleep early, and she can’t risk oversleeping. “She’s so— so beautiful. She’s like sunshine. She makes everything she touches better. I have to do what I can to be good to her.”

“That’s sweet,” Ran says as she swaps out Gray’s empty wine glass for a water. 

“Like sunshine. Claire does have a powerful connection with Mother Nature,” Jennifer agrees. “The world seems to bloom a little more when she sweeps by.”

“She’s my girlfriend,” Gray says, sitting up a bit too intently. 

Jennifer merely raises a brow and sips at her own drink. 

“I’m pretty sure everyone knows that,” Karen says. She’s hardly flushed, though she’s had the most to drink out of all of them. She changes the subject without an ounce of difficulty. She’s good with conflict. Rick thinks it has to come from her experience with family. She always knows what to say. “So does anyone think Elly is pregnant?”

Or maybe not.

“I, uh, don’t know if we should—” Cliff’s cheeks are pink, but Rick isn’t sure if he’s drunk or just embarrassed. 

“If she was, she would have told me,” Ran says.

“Did she tell you?” Karen asks.

Ran shoots her a look.

Kai snorts until a shot of pina colada comes out of his nose. White-yellow slush drops onto the wooden table. Nasty. “You guys are so lucky she isn’t here.” Still laughing, he grabs a napkin to wipe his face.

“All I meant is that she looks a little—”

“She does seem to ooze nature’s purest energy.”

“Ooze?”

“Elly looks great! Marriage suits her.”

_ “Ooze?” _

Gray’s head is on the table now, and Kai seems to take that as a cue to help his roommate upstairs. “Seriously, bad conversation topic. Isn’t guessing when someone’s pregnant a no-go?”

“It’s a small town, beach boy,” Karen shrugs. “What do we have to talk about except who’s getting married and who’s pregnant?”

“And no one’s getting married right now,” Ran chimes in. Cliff glances at her anxiously, twiddling his thumbs. 

“Mm, you sure? Anyone buy a blue feather lately?” Kai asks, eyes intent on Karen. He loops his arms underneath Gray’s shoulders effortlessly.

“Hey, my lips are sealed. You can’t ruin someone’s proposal,” she says. The movement of her eyes gives her away. 

Kai snorts, and Ran jumps on Karen for info. Great job, Kai, Rick thinks as he lets the wine burn the back of his throat. Pregnancy may have been a bad topic, but this wasn’t any better. 

“Come on, it’s not like only one person bought a feather,” Karen says before she clamps her mouth shut. Cliff’s eyes are wide, his hair on end, and Ran looks hopeful. Rick counts off how many people could be ready for a proposal. Cliff is the obvious choice. Gray and Claire are devoted, but neither acts like they’re prepared to march down the aisle. There’s that strange Brandon who lives out on the mountain with Gotts, but Rick is pretty sure he’s seen him in town once, ever, and who would he even ask? That leaves Kai.

He stiffens and jerks his head around, but Kai has already disappeared. Great guy, using that convenient escape. He turns to Karen, who puts her hand on his arm. 

“You know I’d tell you,” she says, voice low. Her breath smells like red wine. Rick isn’t fond of red wine. He leans away.

“Who?” he asks.

Karen merely shrugs.

* * *

“I forgot how heavy you are,” Kai says. He throws Gray onto his bed, and the quilt ruffles up underneath him. He pulls Gray’s cap off for him. He’s nice like that. 

Gray merely grunts his thanks.

“You should be glad I dragged you out of that. It was getting to be a mess down there.” Kai grabs his toothbrush and slips into the bathroom. “I’ll never understand how a town this small can have so much drama. That Karen sure can run her mouth.”

Gray crawls underneath the blankets.

“I for sure thought she was going to spill. She basically did with Cliff. Poor guy. I know he talks more now than ever, but if his nerve gets shot before he gets the chance, I don’t think he’ll ever do it,” he says. He’s pretty sure most of it is unintelligible through the minty foam in his mouth.

“Huh.”

“But I’m not sure who the other could be.” Kai flops back on his own bed and turns out the lights. The inn is small enough that he can still hear the voices from the dining room. “Not you or Claire. Rick sure isn’t getting any. Maybe Jennifer or Marie? But I can’t see Marie making a move, and Jennifer is so chill.”

“Kai, shut up,” Gray says. Or that’s what Kai thinks he says. His voice is too muffled. 

“Hey, maybe it’s Karen,” Kai says. “Nah, she wouldn’t slip up like that then, would she?” 

Gray doesn’t answer this time. He’s a stone still lump on his bed. Kai turns over and goes to sleep.

* * *

In a place like Mineral Town, people usually have it figured out early. There aren’t many options for careers or love, and there’s no reason to look elsewhere. Elly and the doctor? It wasn’t much of a surprise when they married, considering the amount of time they spend together. Ran seems to have met her match in Cliff, and considering he’s practically been adopted by Duke and Manna, their side-by-side businesses make them a perfect couple.

Of course, people don’t always end up where they thought. Rick would have sworn Gray and Marie would end up together when he’d moved to town at fifteen, with the way they spent half the day locked up in the library together. But Gray had met Claire, and now Marie closed the library on Sundays as well, walking around with Jennifer. Still, neither of those pairs seemed out of place either. They were all city-born; they didn’t have that innate country nature. 

Rick knows his place in life well. He’ll take over the farm—he practically has already, with how long his father has been gone—from his parents, look after Popuri, and marry Karen.

It is fine, isn’t it? Karen is his best friend. Sasha and Jeff have told them since they were children that marrying your best friend was the key to happiness. Of course, Karen had always made a face and said she didn’t want to kiss boys before wrestling Rick to the ground. 

But that was a kid thing. Popuri had always said the same thing, and Rick has seen the posters in her bedroom. She grew out of that boys-are-icky phase a long time ago. (He thinks it was the first summer she saw Kai.)

This totality has always seemed kind of nice to Rick. He knows where he’s going to end up. 

Or, rather, Rick always thought he knew. 

This changes the day he walks upstairs to change out of his wet clothes—the sudden and brief summer showers are yet another reason he despises the season—and passes Popuri’s room. The rain has smudged his glasses. At first, all he sees is a pink cloud with a darker streak bunched up below. Underneath, he sees a flash of brown hair and a violet shirt. 

“Popuri, don’t forget it’s your turn to work the mill this evening,” he says. He grabs a glasses cloth from his dresser and wipes the rain from his lenses. “Hey, Karen.”

Popuri shrieks, and Rick stops when it sinks in that the foggy figures he’d seen through his water-specked glasses weren’t merely an illusion. Popuri had been on top of Karen, in her bed. His sister and his best friend—

“What?” he shrieks as he turns. Water drips from his sleeves down his arms, onto the hardwood floor. He should change before he ruins the wood, but he can’t even think to move. “What—you—you two—agh!”

“Rick, please!” Popuri says. She scrambles across the hall, pushing her skirt back down around her knees. “Calm down! It’s not—”

“We’re dating,” Karen says.

“Agh!” Rick repeats.

“I knew you’d do this,” Popuri huffs. “Goddess, why can you never be cool?”

“Agh!”

“He did just find us in bed,” Karen says soothingly. She places her hands on Popuri’s shoulders and smiles sympathetically. “Rick, I love your sister.”

Rick feels sick. He doesn’t answer. He’s pretty sure his mouth is hanging open. “You—”

“We weren’t even doing anything,” Popuri protests.

“That’s not the point!”

“Rick,” Karen says, and he wants to— He wants to say  _ something _ . It’s  _ Karen _ .

“Does Mama know?” he asks before he can think.

“Does Mama know what?” Lillia stops at the top of the stairs to catch her breath. She looks at Rick. “I’m sorry, sweetie, but can you take over the front counter for a while? I need a break.”

Rick has to finish feeding the chickens. He has to trim the rooster spurs. He has to find that wasp’s nest in the door. He knows Popuri won’t remember to do the feed, so he needs to handle the mill. He needs to run into town and see if the doctor can come by to check on his mother again.  _ Popuri _ hardly does anything. Can’t she take the front counter for once? “Okay,” he says.

Karen elbows Popuri. “What? Oh,” she says. “Mama, I’ll do the front desk. Unless you want me to finish your chores, Rick?”

He’s already soaking wet. The rain has stopped, but who knows if it will pick back up again? “You do the counter,” he says. “It’s fine.” He storms back down the stairs. He’d wanted Popuri to take the counter, so he doesn’t know why he’s mad. He just knows he is. 

As he walks back through the yard, he hears the chickens’ clucking. Milly hops up out of her favorite hole and snuggles into his leg, like she knows he’s upset. “Hey, girl,” he says. “Thank you. I’m glad you’re having a good day. Let’s get in the shade, okay?”

She hops over him, racing towards a worm wriggling by the corner of the fence. Normally, Rick would smile. He loves his chickens. They’re good. They’re fun. He’s never once doubted his trajectory in life when he knows this world awaits him. Rick is supposed to like his life. 

He does like his life. 

Is it so bad to want a break?

* * *

Popuri doesn’t come by the cafe. On the first day, Kai wonders if she got an earful from Rick: He knows she’s been dodging her chores, and Karen has gotten onto her for that. It’s not wrong, per se, for her to pitch in a little more, but he knows that if Rick had his way, Popuri would never leave the damn farm. It can’t be  _ that _ much work to care for a bunch of chickens. Not enough for three people to spend all their time there. Still, maybe Rick deserves a break (though Kai is loath to admit it) for a change. He brushes it off. 

Until a week passes, and Kai knows something is wrong. If Popuri isn’t hitting the cafe with Karen, are they getting to see each other at all? Did they break up? Did Rick make them break up? No, if that had happened, Kai was sure he would have stormed into the cafe, demanding answers about why Kai let him think he was the one seeing his baby sister. (Kai has had a bearding defense ready since last summer.) No other reason fits for her absence, though, and Kai is starting to get concerned.

“Is Popuri okay?” Kai asks Gray when he stops by for lunch. Claire isn’t with him for a change, and Kai is kind of glad. He’s still a little peeved at her. 

“Popuri?” Gray asks, setting his plate on a table while shoving half a slice in his mouth. Kai is suddenly glad their summer fling didn’t last. “She’s fine, I guess.”

“You sure? She hasn’t been around. Are she and Karen good?”

Gray presses a napkin to his forehead. The napkin soaks up the sweat, wilting in the humidity even inside the cafe. Kai needs to beef up the AC, but he spent enough on repairing his cooler when it got knocked out by the last typhoon. He can’t afford any more expenses this summer. The budget books are already close to bleeding red. 

“You, uh… didn’t hear about Ms. Lillia?” Gray asks. 

Kai’s throat tightens. Lillia. Rick and Popuri’s mother. He’s seen her around town a few times. Popuri’s mentioned that she doesn’t go out much, and she worries about her. “No?” he says.

Gray frowns. “She’s having a bad spell. Rick and Popuri have been running the shop by themselves.”

“Oh.”

“They actually got into a big blowout the other night. I was helping Gramps with a project until midnight. I could hear them going at it even then,” Gray says. 

Kai looks down at the counter. A drop of condensation slips off his water bottle and onto the floor. “They did?”

“Yeah. Rick said she has to shape up or something. He can’t do it by himself anymore.” Gray tears the crust on his pizza in half and wipes up the lingering sauce on his plate. “Gotta say, this was a long time coming.”

Kai carries his dishes over to the sink. The soapy water splashes as he drops them, bubbles foaming around his fingers. “You think?”

“Psh, yeah. I almost never see Popuri doing shit on the farm. I’m not sayin’ Rick’s not to blame for any of it, but—” Gray shrugs. “—I don’t know how she expects to be treated like an adult when she doesn’t act like one.”

“But she—” Kai falters. As Popuri’s friend, his duty is to defend her, but he’s suddenly too aware of how much of  _ her _ side he’s heard. And though Rick may piss him off to no end, maybe he does have a point. “She says he doesn’t let her cook. Or use knives. And he gets mad if she’s out after dark.”

“Yeah, he’s overprotective,” Gray agrees. “And she acts like a kid. They get mad at each other when they’re both part of the problem. But I think Popuri needs to stop and realize the position her brother is in. Sometimes it’s hard to see what’s holding you back is yourself.”

Something in his voice reeks of experience, and Kai suddenly feels defensive. “There’s nothing wrong with taking life easy. Don’t you think Rick could stand to relax a bit? Get the stick out of his ass?”

Gray nods and stretches back. “It’d be good for him. But he can’t afford to. He’s got a family to take care of. The doctor is a nice guy, but Ms. Lillia’s medical bills still add up. Sometimes responsibility comes first.”

Kai thinks of his budget book. If something went wrong, would he be able to take care of himself? Maybe. He’s always been good about bouncing back. But that’s with only himself to worry about. If something happened to his parents—if they lost all of their wealth and health—how would he take care of them? Would he even want to? They’ve never been close, but—

“What about their dad?” Kai asks. His mouth is moving on its own now.

Gray scoffs. “I’ve lived here since I was fifteen. And I ain’t seen hair nor hide of him. I can’t say he’s not out there like Ms. Lillia insists, but most of town ain’t holding hope.”

Kai nods. He doesn’t know what to say. When Gray heads back to work, he stands alone behind the counter. 

* * *

Rick never thought there would come a day when he didn’t spend his mornings with Karen, but those days came and went. He’s tried a few alternate routines before opening shop in the morning: dropping by the inn to chat with Ran and the long-term guests, but they leave too early; stepping into the clinic to ask about possible treatments, but Elly and the doctor eventually assured them they’d let him know if they found anything new; even heading down to Zack’s on the beach, but Zack and Huang don’t wake up early (though Zack offered to come over and help with a few chores in the evening). Rick has friends in town, but he’s never really been close to anyone aside from Karen, not in the way that he can carve out a piece of his day just to see them. 

Popuri hasn’t gone out much either since Lillia’s spell. She still takes her morning walk around the mountain, but by ten, she’s back home, cooking their mother’s lunch before opening shop. Rick hates to think anything has been easier since Lillia moved to bed rest, but in some ways, it  _ has _ . Knowing Popuri is there with her if anything happens eases his burden. 

Funny how he never noticed Popuri is a good cook until now.

“Told you!” she teases as she stacks up their breakfast dishes. They eat in Lillia’s room to be with her, and it’s strangely peaceful to have so much time together. “I’m a grown-up now, Rick! I can do things on my own!”

Yeah, Rick has to admit it: Popuri isn’t a baby anymore. It’s bittersweet. He’s glad to see her stepping up, but it means his baby sister is different now. He’s an adult too. Though he’s known that for a long time, it’s a burden he’s never wanted to acknowledge. He never wanted it on Popuri’s shoulders, not really. He hugs her as he walks out the door to let the chickens out. He’s lucky. At the end of the day, he has a good sister.

And Karen is lucky to have her.

That’s another thing that’s hard to process. Karen and Popuri. They’re together. They’re in love. Karen has been careful not to come around too much, though she and her parents brought their normal supplies from the general store free of charge on Sunday. “Let me know when you want to talk,” she’d told him, placing her hand on his arm. She’d pecked Popuri’s cheek before leaving, and Rick felt nothing. 

He’d always thought he would marry her. That was what made sense. Rick and Karen have been friends forever. He always thought they were the closest people in town. But nothing romantic had ever sprouted between them. Rick loves Karen, but he’s never been in love with her. Marrying her would have been like settling.

Just like the rest of his life. 

When the chickens run over his feet before he can even climb out of the pen, he knows he has to talk to Karen. It’s been long enough, and for Popuri’s sake, he wants to make things better. She deserves to see her girlfriend, and Rick misses his best friend. 

So he pokes his head inside and yells, “I’m going out! I’ll be back by opening!”

Karen is sitting on the bench down the Northside when he arrives, her hair in a ponytail. Rick knows she’s a pretty woman, but no rush of attraction comes, not like when he met Claire, or even when he was little and thought Adge was the prettiest girl he’d ever seen. Karen is his sister’s girlfriend and his best friend. He’s happy for them. 

“Hey!” he says with a smile as he sits down. 

Karen jerks up, the arm hooked around the back of the bench catching and yanking her back. “Oh, Rick. Hey!” she says, like she’s not nervous at all. “Are you…?” She trails off, clearly unable to decide how to continue.

Rick knows what to say. “I thought I would marry you,” he says.

Karen blinks. “What?”

“I thought I would marry you,” he repeats. “I thought— I thought you were the person I loved the most in this town, and I thought we would marry and live together and it would be  _ fine _ because that’s how things were supposed to be. I thought we would settle down, and— and that’s ridiculous. I don’t love you. Not like that.”

“I don’t love you either,” Karen says, brows knit. “Rick, I love Popuri.”

Rick smiles. “I know. And I’m happy for you. Popuri—she loves you too.”

Tension drains from her shoulders. “You’re not about to start treating me like Kai?” she jokes. 

Rick’s smile tightens. His cheeks ache. He unclenches them. “You’re not Kai. I know you wouldn’t yank her around,” he says.

Karen crosses her arms over her chest. “Rick.”

“I’m not here to talk about Kai,” he interrupts. “I just wanted you to know why I reacted like I did, okay? I was caught up in what I was s’posed to do, not what I wanted. The way things always end up around here. But I was wrong. I’m  _ happy _ for you two. And you don’t have to run around and hide things from me. All I want is for you two to be good to each other.”

Karen’s eyes look a little misty, and she flutters her lashes before turning away for half a second. “Ah, Rick. Don’t get all sappy. Save it for the wedding day.”

Rick jerks. “The wedding day?”

Karen grows sheepish. “Yeah, uh… Rick, okay. I told you I’d tell you. If Kai and Popuri—well…” She trails off. “I’ve been waiting until Popuri was ready to tell you, but you know now. I want to ask her to marry me.”

Rick’s throat is dry. “The other blue feather was yours.”

“Yeah,” she says. “And I’m going to talk to Ms. Lillia too. But you’re my best friend. I wanted to tell you first.”

“You want to marry my sister,” Rick says.

“Yes. I don’t know if I’ll ask her for a while, with things being the way they are, but I do want to. So when the time comes—”

Now Rick feels a bit teary. He can’t help pulling Karen into a hug. She squeezes back. She’s always been strong. His back cracks.

“Dad should be here,” he says softly. 

“I know,” she says. She doesn’t push anymore. Rick thinks of something she said about Kai before.  _ Kai isn’t like your father. _

He’d thought that was a warning not to interfere in Popuri’s relationship. If Kai whisked her away, so what? It was Popuri’s choice too. And Kai wouldn’t abandon her either. At the very least, Kai was consistent. He’d always come back in the summer. But what Karen meant was something entirely different. 

When Rick sees Kai, he sees his father running off and never looking back. He sees every year he’d spent doing things for Popuri that his father had done for him. He’d taught her to ride a bike, to feed the chickens, to run the mill. He’d taught her how to recognize each one of their hens. He’d taught her how to look out for their mother in ways children weren’t supposed to have to look after their parents. Every summer, Kai swoops in, makes things seem so warm and fun when he’s around, when the sun is high and bright in the sky. But where is he during winter? Where is he when the winds grow harsh and the ice covers the earth? Where is he when money is lean and they count pennies to make it to spring? Rick hadn’t wanted Popuri to end up like their mother, waiting on a man who would never come home.

He doesn’t want to end up like their mother.

Rick swallows. He pulls back from Karen, stomach tight. He thinks of Kai again. It’s easier to find reasons to hate him because it would hurt more if he let himself like Kai and let him go each season. But he still remembers the first time he met Kai. He was nineteen, taking a rare trip to the beach, a nice day off when the store was closed and Lillia felt well. Kai was talking to Gotts, describing what he wanted from his beach house. He was beautiful, brown skin glowing in the summer sun, eyes light in an easygoing way, like he had no troubles. When he saw Rick, he turned and smiled.

“Hey! I’m Kai,” he said. “I’m setting up a beach cafe here. Cool, yeah? Make sure to stop by sometime! Having cute guys hang around will be good for business.”

Rick had spluttered and run off, but he thought about that all night. Was that flirting, he had wondered. Was he flirting? Funny, how things could have changed so quickly. Rick spotted him spouting the same line to Popuri, Marie, Ran, Elly… That was that. He knew Kai was a good-for-nothing. 

He’d been jealous.

“Rick? What’s wrong?” Karen asks.

He laughs and shakes his head. “I’m tired,” he admits. “Tired of doing what I have to do. Tired of taking care of everyone else.”

Karen softens before tugging on the bridge of his glasses. “You do what you think you have to do. But sometimes what you need to is take care of yourself.”

Maybe she’s right. Karen is smart. Rick hugs her again. “Maybe I was wrong about Kai,” he admits. 

“You were. But things will work out. I bet you two could be friends,” she says. 

For half a second, Rick wants to tell her about how he feels. But for now, he wants to keep it to himself. He hasn’t had much of his own in his life, much he gets to choose. He’ll let himself sit on this for a while, alone. “I’ll talk to him. He probably didn’t deserve all the yelling and shouting if he’s not with Popuri,” he says.

Karen laughs, and though the sun grows hot on their shoulders, they linger until it’s time for Mineral Town to open.

* * *

Popuri comes by for lunch one day with Karen, and rather than climbing all over each other, they eat like a normal couple. Their conversation is serious and muted, and Karen holds Popuri’s hand throughout the meal. They chat briefly with Kai, but they don’t include him. Something has changed, and Kai only gets that sense when Popuri stops by the counter before leaving. “Rick knows,” she says.

So that explains why Rick hasn’t come barreling in either. Kai knows the peace is unusual, but he hasn’t wanted to question it. No sense looking a gift horse in the mouth.

That rings true when Rick shows up the next day. The cafe is empty, and Kai wonders if the AC is working overtime in this heat. It’s still acting up, and he’s worried it’s going to blow out. If it waits until the end of the season, he can put it off until he’s got a little more from one of his other properties to send back for Gotts to fix while he’s gone. The longer Kai thinks about it, the more he thinks he should write this property off. He could get a little tax break. Find a new place for the summer.

But Kai likes Mineral Town. He may only spend the summers there, but he’s gotten used to everyone. He doesn’t know what he’d do if he had to leave for good. As much as he loves traveling, as much as he doesn’t want to give up his freedom, maybe there is something to having a place to call home. He hasn’t had that since the day he stormed out of his parents’ house, crying that he’d find his own way, without their money. 

It’s in these thoughts that he watches Rick approach the counter. Prepared to send him off, because he doesn’t need a fight with all those heavy thoughts lingering over him, he doesn’t know how to react when Rick says, “Uh. Can I have a plate of spaghetti?”

“What?” Kai rubs his eyes. That  _ is  _ Rick. No one else in town even looks like him. It’s definitely Rick standing in his store.

“You sell food, right?” Rick says neutrally. “I’m ordering a plate of spaghetti.” He pulls his wallet out, beaten up brown leather, but though it doesn’t look overwhelmingly nice, Rick carries a fair amount of cash.

Kai speaks G well. “Yeah. Uh. A plate of spaghetti and water?” he asks.

“How much is the water?” Rick squints up at the menu, adjusting his glasses.

“Water is free. I’m not evil,” Kai replies. Okay, he regrets saying that. Rick hasn’t started a fight yet, and Kai doesn’t want one.

But Rick doesn’t get mad. He half-smiles as he hands over the G. “Popuri says you’re a good cook. We’ll see how you compare to Dudley.”

“Dudley is a good cook,” Kai admits longingly. “He’s got such a solid clientbase.”

Rick glances around the empty cafe curiously. For some reason, Kai’s cheeks go pink.

“Well, the inn is usually the only place to eat in town,” Rick says, almost gracious.

Kai shrugs. “Yeah, well—isn’t change good?” He doesn’t bother looking at Rick again as he starts on his food. 

Rick, on the other hand, steps to the other end of the counter, not daring to move too far. “Maybe. But we all have routines. Your cafe is on the beach. Most of us don’t have the time to come here often.”

Kai… honestly hadn’t considered that. “Right. Yeah, yeah. I’m glad you decided to give my food a chance though.”

Rick is quiet for a moment. “I wanted to say sorry,” he says when Kai is tossing the pasta and sauce together.

Kai falters. “Sorry?”

“For… everything. About Popuri. How I’ve talked to you,” he explains. “You didn’t deserve it, when you weren’t even seeing her.”

“I didn’t deserve it whether I was seeing her or not,” Kai snaps.

Rick, surprisingly, doesn’t argue. “My problem with you was never your fault,” he says instead.

Kai hesitates. He’s not friends with Rick. He doesn’t need him to unload on him. And yet… part of him wants to hear it. He nods for him to continue.

“You remind me of my dad,” Rick says. His voice is soft, like a child’s. Kai thinks of the time he heard Mei pleading for her mother to come home on the phone in the inn. He wonders how long Rick and Popuri’s father has been gone. “He left, and… even before the last trip, he was gone a lot. He’d always be looking for something new for Mama. And now he’s gone, and Mama needs him.”

Kai stares. “I remind you of your dad that left your family,” he sums up. “That’s why you don’t like me.”

Rick’s face flushes. “Pretty much.”

“Well, damn. I don’t know what to say about that. I’m not your dad. I don’t have a family to abandon. I’m free to come and go as I please,” Kai says.

Rick nods. “I know. But when I thought you and Popuri—I thought you would do to her what—”

“I said this before,” Kai interjects, “but either way, isn’t that her decision?”

Rick opens his mouth wider, as if he’s about to spout off. But he cools down. The tension drains from his shoulders, and he nods. “It is.”

Okay. So Rick is being a decent person. Kai hates to admit it, but maybe Claire was right about him. “How’s your mother?” he asks.

Rick softens a little more. “She’s doing better. I think she was overworked. Popuri is going to take over half of her hours at the counter.”

“That’s good,” Kai offers. He slides the plate of spaghetti over to him.

Rick glances at briefly, but he doesn’t pick up his fork. “The other thing is—” His face gets redder. He’s pale enough that he’s getting pretty rosy by now.

“The other thing?” Kai prompts. 

Rick clears his throat. He glances out the window, where Zack’s house lies. “Y’know, Dad and Uncle Zack came here together. They were friends,” he says. “But Dad left. Uncle Zack stayed. I don’t get it.”

“What don’t you get?” 

“Uncle Zack… I’m pretty sure he loves Mama,” Rick says. It sounds guilty, the way he says, voice so hushed it’s hard to hear even in an empty shack. “But Mama chose Dad. And now he’s gone. But Uncle Zack comes around. He helps when we need help. He’s more of… more of a husband. More of a father.”

Kai doesn’t quite understand where this is going. “Okay.”

“I always told myself I’d be like Uncle Zack when I got married. And I wanted to make sure Popuri met someone like that for her husband,” Rick says. “Or wife. Karen will be a good wife. But I never realized that Popuri is the one like our father. I’m the one who would end up like Mama. With someone who would leave without a second thought. And when I saw you…”

Kai tries to process. He stares at Rick and his red face, the uneaten meal in front of him. Him? Kai? Was Rick saying…? “Are you hitting on me?”

Rick bristles. “No, I— I wasn’t! Look, it’s not— It’s not like you’re—”

“If I had a family, I wouldn’t abandon them,” Kai says firmly. “I like to travel. That doesn’t make me a terrible person. And I always come back, don’t I?”

Rick pushes his glasses up his nose. “You do. Every summer,” he says softly. 

“So I’m not your dad.” Kai grabs the rag dangling from the edge of the counter to wipe the sauce splattered on the stovetop before it sets into red clumps. “Gotta say though, probably one of the weirder confessions I’ve had. Guy who pulled my pigtails like a kid turns out to be in love with me, thinks I’m like his dad. Might be a few issues there.”

“Ah— You— Shut up!” Rick splutters, and it’s kind of cute when Kai is making him speechless, not just pissed off. Gray was right about Rick needing a break. He’s always been wound too tight. Someone needs to teach the guy to lighten up a bit. Kai might be the right guy for the job.

* * *

Karen and Popuri set their wedding for a fine spring day. Spring is a good season for weddings, and Lillia always perks up when winter recedes. Rick writes to Kai to let him know, and surprisingly, he makes the time to come for the wedding. 

Rick shouldn’t be surprised. When Kai left at the end of the summer, he’d promised to write. He hadn’t failed: Though he’d been somewhere new in autumn, winter, spring, letters come once a week. Not everything he writes is exciting. Half the time, he only writes something along the lines of  _ Found a giant hole in my wall today. Gotta get that patched soon. Hope I have enough _ . Rick always writes back some advice to make the most of his money. It’s a wonder he can afford to travel so much with his finances in that shape. If Rick saw PoPoultry’s books like that, he would cry. But Kai is blase. “Everything will work out,” he says, and Rick is trying to adopt that philosophy. He can afford to take things a little easier. 

Rick isn’t totally sure what’s going on between them, and he isn’t bothered about asking. Kai is only around one season a year, so maybe marriage isn’t in the package for them. At least, not yet. But they’re having fun, whether Kai is around to take him on a date or if they’re merely writing letters. The rest can be figured out later. 

Still, at the wedding, they come together. They dance. They joke. When most of Mineral Town has returned home, and the reception is dying down, they sit on the beach and pass a bottle of wine back and forth.

“I’ll be back to open my cafe in a month,” Kai says as the crescent moon ripples across the sea. The white light looks like the Harvest Goddess’s smile. “Then I’ll be back.”

“Where do you think you’re going to go this fall?” Rick asks, limbs loose from the wine, eyes heavy as he slumps into Kai’s side. 

“Same place as usual,” Kai shrugs. “Though… I could close that cafe. It’s a little too rundown. Not sure it’s worth fixin’ up.”

“Will you open up a new one somewhere?”

Kai hums. “Maybe. Or if I’ve made enough, I might take a season off and travel.”

“That sounds nice,” Rick says. 

“You could come with me,” Kai says.

Rick stops and sits up, pushing his glasses up his nose. “Come with you?”

“You could use a vacation,” Kai says. “You said your mom and Popuri can handle the store for a while without you.”

“Yeah, but Popuri is going on her honeymoon, and it’d be too much to have us both go this year—”

Kai leans closer, pushing his sock cap off of his head and into the sand. “She’ll be back before then, right? The whole summer. You can take some time off too.”

Rick almost doesn’t consider it. But the idea of going somewhere new, somewhere on his own, no work, is too appealing. “I’ll think about it,” he says.

Kai smiles. “Cool. I’ll send you deets about places to go.”

“You don’t want to talk more?” Rick asks. 

Kai shakes his head. “Nah. C’mere.” He offers his hand, setting the empty wine bottle down.

Rick should be making plans. Instead, he takes Kai’s hand and watches the waves hit Mineral Beach.


End file.
